Blog

Recently in Women's Soccer Category

Illinois' Claire Wheatley was named Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week, while Nebraska's Jaycie Johnson was also named to the organization's Team of the Week.

Wheatley earned the accolade after making a career-high 11 saves and stopping a pair of penalty kicks to help the Fighting Illini defeat No. 21 Washington State, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She earned her first-career shutout, bringing her season total to 98 saves.

Johnson helped the Cornhuskers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after scoring all four goals in the team's 4-0 shutout of Southeastern Louisiana. She currently ranks third in the Big Ten with 17 goals this season.

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Illinois will face Portland on Friday at Noon ET, while Nebraska will entertain Boston College on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.

Four Big Ten teams were recognized in the latest NSCAA/NCAA Coaches, Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer top 25 women's soccer polls.

Nebraska checked in at No. 10 in the coaches' poll, followed by No. 11 Michigan and No. 24 Penn State. In the Soccer America weekly poll, Nebraska was ranked No. 7, followed by No. 11 Michigan and No. 25 Iowa. In the Top Drawer Soccer poll, Nebraska earned a No. 10 ranking, followed by No. 13 Michigan and No. 23 Penn State.

All four teams earned berths into the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Friday. Nebraska earned a No. 2 seed in the tournament and will face Southeastern Louisiana on Friday at 3 p.m. ET. Michigan garnered a No. 3 seed and will face Milwaukee on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Penn State, which was last year's national runner-up, earned a No. 4 seed and will face Monmouth on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Iowa will travel to Notre Dame for its first-round match on Friday beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

DiBernardo is a three-time All-Big Ten honoree, the 2011 Midfielder of the Year, 2010 Freshman of the Year and two-time Academic All-Big Ten. Dreher, Flower, Nasenbenny, Kuramoto and Candler are all two-time Academic All-Big Ten honorees, while Hein was also a 2012 All-Big Ten. Zadorsky and Allen were both Academic All-Big Ten selections in 2012 and 2013.

The award recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their athletic performance and academic success. First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, which will be selected later this month.

The Big Ten women's soccer squads will conclude their regular season slate this weekend. In Friday afternoon's matchup, No. 18 Nebraska (9-1-0) can clinch its first outright Big Ten Championship with a win over Indiana (6-4-0). The two teams will collide at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The NSCAA/NCAA Coaches, Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer updated their top 25 women's soccer polls, which featured five Big Ten squads.

In the coaches' poll, Michigan checked in at No. 8, followed by No. 18 Nebraska and No. 22 Penn State. Wisconsin and Indiana also received votes. In the Soccer America rankings, Michigan landed at No. 8, followed by No. 15 Nebraska. In the Top Drawer Soccer weekly poll, Michigan earned a No. 12 ranking, followed by No. 17 Nebraska and No. 19 Penn State.

Michigan has won seven consecutive Big Ten matches, including a 2-0 defeat of Illinois (Oct. 25) and 3-0 shutout of Northwestern (Oct. 27). The Cornhuskers defeated Ohio State, 1-0, on Oct. 25, and edged Penn State in a 3-2 double-overtime win on Oct. 27. Indiana defeated Purdue, 2-1, on Oct. 24, followed by a 1-0 shutout of Wisconsin on Oct. 27.

All 12 teams will play their final regular-season game this week, beginning with an Illinois-Minnesota matchup on Thursday.